Abstract
We have previously reported the regional differences in the intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) present in the small intestine of mice. In this study, we further investigated these differences on the basis of our previous findings and studied the entire intestine, including the cecum and colon. Most of the significant differences in phenotypic compositions were found between the small and large intestines, although some differences were found among the different parts of the small and large intestines. In particular, the composition of the subsets in αβ T cells and γδ T cells clearly differed between the small and large intestines. For example, in αβ T cells, the percentages of double negative (DN) and CD8αα+ cells were higher in the large intestine, that of CD8αβ+ cells was higher in the small intestine, and those of CD4+ and CD4+ CD8αα+ double positive (DP) cells were higher in the distal part of the small intestine. In γδ T cells, the percentage of CD8αα+ cells was higher in the small intestine and that of DN cells was higher in the large intestine. These results indicate that the differences between IELs in the small and large intestines are discontinuous.
Published Version
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